The military applications of augmented cognition

Wired has an article on the increasing military excitement about augmented cognition (AugCog for short) – technology which reads and responds to cognitive states to allow devices to be used more efficiently.

As has been noted recently, augmented cognition is becoming a hot topic, especially since the millions of dollars investment by US military research agency, DARPA, are starting to result in some finished products.

Indeed, military research centres have been heavily focusing on the technology for the last few years, hoping it can increase the efficiency of military personnel especially when in high-stress situations.

The article includes a cautious comment from Zack Lynch (who you might know via his blog, Brain Waves), and an interesting aside about the possible commercial applications of the research:

Zack Lynch, executive director of the Neurotechnology Industry Organization, says he’s a bit suspicious of the claims because the improvements sound almost too dramatic. But “all in all, there are clearly tremendous advances” being made under the AugCog program, he notes in an e-mail. “(That progress) will bring benefits well outside the defense community,” he says. “All you have to do is imagine what Wall Street will do when they get their hands on technology that can increase trading performance.”

Link to Wired article ‘Pentagon Preps Mind Fields’.Link to good post on AugCog from Neurophilosopher.